My Wind, My Requiem
by sheryl1988
Summary: When a dark entity steals aways every young maiden from Village of the Winds, Yunsung must prioritize two conflicting values of friendship and war. TalimxYunsung fic. Please review. :D
1. ONE

My Wind, My Requiem

**Cast**

_Talim and Yunsung_

TALIM 

"Talim, come quick!" called a familiar voice. "Hmn?" I blinked, then ran over to the other side of the hill, where my younger friend, Klonoa stood, body stiff. "I think I can... feel it! I can feel it!" she exclaimed happily. "Finally.." I laughed in relief. Lately I had been helping develop Klonoa's sense of the wind. "I feel its prescence coarsing through my veins!" Klonoa announced proudly. I could remember when I first felt the spirit of the wind in myself; although it had been when I had been very young, much younger than Klonoa when I discovered it. "That's good to know! You must continue to trust the wind's spirit- it will always be your guide." I softly reminded, my words woven with wisdom. "Yes.. I know.. oh Talim, look who it is." Klonoa then informed, looking down toward one of the town's main paths. "Who.." I started, trying to follow her sight, until my own eyes locked on. It was Yunsung, casually walking along with Seung Mina. "It's Mr. Yunsung!" Klonoa exclaimed obviously. "Yunsung.." Talim murmured, trailing off a bit. "And he's with Miss Mina too!" she added ecstatically. I could feel my shoulders stiffen at her statement, although I didn't want to admit to myself why. "Y-yeah." I answered, a bit vaguely. It went returned with a strange glance from young Klonoa. "He and Mina must be finished their training session already. That's a bit early." I spoke figuratively. "Let's go meet them, shall we?" she then proposed, taking off down the hill after them. I watched as the two swung arms around eachother happily, kicking and laughing, almost as if they were drunk. An unvoluntary sigh gusted my lips, and I was about to question myself when I realized I was so far off thought I almost missed the change in the wind!

Although I knew Klonoa waited near the bottom of the hill for me, impatient on my following, I stood stunned. I remember the wind hadn't coarsed in this manner before, although it was a quite familiar behaviour. "What.." I murmured, standing a few more seconds in the ill breeze. It's manner was so strong, I even notice it's fluxuation without any concentration. My knees grew weak. I recognized the pattern now, this prescence was very evil. It reminded me of my accident with the evil seed though the approach differed. I could hear the cry of the wind screaming in my ears for a semi-second instant, shocking me out of my mind, then vanishing. I stood still, my eyes widened. My chest was rising quickily, and it occured to me how short of breath I was. "Talim!" I was then called. I looked back down to Klonoa who was waving. "Come on already! We're gonna lose them!" she demanded. I looked at her, then to the sky, then back. "That was so odd.. I wonder what that was.." I began to run down hill after Klonoa.

"About time." Klonoa chastised as we met slightly closer to a town path. "What's the matter with you? You're acting so strange today." I ignored her concern, a slightly large conflict on my mind. "Klonoa.. did you feel that?" "Feel _what_?" she answered, raising a brow. I looked to the side, not answering her question, a dismissed look on my face. '_Ofcourse, Talim. She just discovered the wind's prescence and your asking her if she sensed something so advanced and abominal._' I thought, disappointed. "Talim! Are you listening!" she yelled in my ear, causing me to recoil. "Yes.. yea.. it's just; something's been bothering me. I felt-" "Miss Mina!" Klonoa then yelled, Yunsung and Seung Mina just appearing over the path. I stopped as they turned around. The young girl left me and ran at them. They both warmly intercepted her, each taking one of her arms and swinging her around. It sickeningly reminded me of a family, though I immediately disregarded the thought as I was called. "Talim!" friendily greeted a masculine voice. I froze. Yunsung was calling me over, which made me felt so good. I was really beginning to resemble an extra wheel. "You guys are out and about.. I thought you two vowed hard to train." I inquired, walking over. "All work and no play makes life dull, Talim!" Mina yelled, pumping a fist, Klonoa settled between them. "Besides," Yunsung started, drawing my eyes. He was carrying Mina's luggage. The designs decorating the heavy objects had Seung Mina written all over. "It's Mina's birthday. We ended the morning session early in celebration." he smiled, taking Mina's hand. I was suddenly beginning to feel sick, though plastered on the most sincere smile I could dig up at the very time. "Oh, Happy Birthday, Mina." I politely wished. "Thanks," she winked. "How old are you Mina?" Klonoa asked naively. Mina laughed bewilderedly. "I'm.." she trailed a bit, looking to Yunsung. He shrugged and smiled back, then looked down to Klonoa. "She's an Old Goose, Klonoa!" he laughed. "Hey!" Mina began to chase after him, he playfully leaping from her pounding session. I stood, doing nothing but watching, at a loss of words. He then grabbed Mina's hand. "Hey, by looks of it she didn't age a day, hey?" Seemed to me they had a moment. I wanted to turn and hurl, and I did, minus the hurling part. "I- I have to check something out." Yunsung, Mina and Klonoa all looked at me. I was a bit glad I was atleast noticed. "What? You won't come celebrate with us?" Mina asked. "I'm.. I'm sorry, Mina. There's just something I _really_ need to take a look at." They all stood at a pause, as if I was to explain, until finally Yunsung spoke for the others. "What's the problem? Can we help?" I was glad of his offer, and though I wanted so much his company, I wouldn't be able to concentrate if I let social problems cloud my state of mind.

"Earlier.. not too long ago, I felt a force.. I'm not quite sure of exactly what it is but it needs my attention. I'm afraid of what it may be." I stopped there. That would be as much as what'd I'd say. I never told any of them, except for Klonoa, about my encounter with the evil seed. "That's.. too bad." Mina said superficially. I was glad I could go without a fuss, even so a part of me was angry at them for letting me go so easily. They didn't care. I nodded, swallowing and left them. Klonoa then sparked up the story of how she had discovered the power of the winds. Behind me I could here them resume the day, as happily as before.

Not long after I departed the group, I was at the summit of my favourite hillside, where the winds were strong and usual. "Hello.." I spoke to the air, feeling it engulf me greetingly. The prevailing wind was regular. It showed no evidence of the earlier disturbance. "What happened?" I asked. I waited for the signs, the response of my guide. "Evil.. I knew that already." I spoke. I then hugged my sides, tainted by the reminder of feeling such evil pierce my body. "What must I do?" I asked intently. Suddenly I could no longer feel them, I could no longer sense the winds. They seemed to have disappeared. I paused. Maybe it would come back. Maybe.. I looked around, to the town, to the windmills which were ceasing to move. I was waiting for a panic from the elders, but ran back down my hill towards the settlement. What was even happening? I need to warn our priests.

"Amanidin!" I cried, rapping on the door of the nearest elder priest. The usual ringing of wind chimes and churning of miniature windmills that dressed the front of his house were silent. I wondered if he even noticed. As I waited for a response, I took a quick look around the city. It almost seemed lifeless without our winds. The skies also seemed to darken, a large grey cloud forming and lingering above us. I prayed this was a nightmare at that point but whipped back around when the door swung open. "Talim?" said the elden man, thin garments and much spiritual jewelry handing over every thin limb of his tired body. "High Priest.." His attention seemed to leave me as he left his doorstep and stood still. I could only assume he was beginning to notice. "Can you feel it, my Lord?" I asked. "Feel it.. no wind. Can you feel the absence, Talim?" he spoke. "Yes.. I'm scared." I admitted. "We must gather the council. I will do that. You, my dear, I need you to get all the villagers into their home, and tell them to stay there until we figure this foreboding out!" he ordered. "Yes, my Lord." I answered swiftly and sprinted out into the town to clear out as much of my kin as I could.

"Please, go inside! Go home!" I asked all who lurked in the bazaar. "What is the problem, Talim?" a woman asked. I met this question more than once, and as much as I didn't want to raise a panic, but I also needed to make sure this people would listen. "Something evil's stirring. There are no winds! Please, go home! It's your safest haven now!" I instructed. "I must leave, I must warn the others!" I exclaimed, leaving as fast as I could. "Please! Tell the others! Return home! Do not come out until this is dealt, you _must_ listen to me!" I screamed to the people as I travelled through the roads. I was glad I was well-trusted in my town, and people followed without question. My status as the Last Priestess may have helped that along. After a while, with reasonable people and much warning, I cleared a good bit of the outside population; though there was still more left. "Talim.." I was stopped. I turned around to face an old woman, my nanny when I was younger. "Please Omi, please, go inside. I would die if anything happened to you." Omi was one of the few whom I could consider true family anymore. We were distantly related. "What about you, my sweet? Come inside. I would die if anything happened to _you_." she restated, taking my arm with thin and wrinkled hands. "I.." I hesitated. "Do not leave me alone, sweetheart." I thought of warning the others, then it came to me. 'Yunsung!' What if he was still out? Oh no. I began to back off from my nanny. I could see the look of betrayal in her eyes. "Omi.. I.. I have to go! Go inside!" I ran from her. 'I'm sorry, Omi.. I must find Yunsung.' the thought repeated in my head. "Return to your homes! A dark spirit's about! Leave now to safety! Stay inside your houses!" I continued to tell remaining townspeople. I then spotted the firey-haired boy sitting at an outdoor table of a restaurant with Seung Mina. They were continuing their happy celebration, a Wind Village cake between the two. "Yunsung!" I cried overhead as I ran to them. By the time I reached them, I was almost too out of breath to speak, and I rested my hands on my knees to catch my breath after all that running. "Talim.." Yunsung spoke in slight concern, placing a hand on my shoulder for support. "You're exhausted." Mina remarked. I didn't near notice how much weaker I was without the winds with me. I could run double the length I did without a problem provided I had the winds with me. "What's wrong?" Yunsung started.

"Please.." I spoke, still short of breath. "Go inside. Stay in your homes! There's something dark, very evil spreading. We must run to safety!" I informed them. "Evil, eh?" Yunsung's arm left me to draw his White Storm sword. "I'll take 'em!" he spouted confidently. "I'll fight them down!" he added, spinning his weapon and making a stance. "Me too," Mina agreed with a spunky smile, picking up Scarlet Thunder, her partisan at her side. "Ready," she stanced aswell. I watched them helplessly. "Don't you understand!" I cried, grabbing Yunsung's shoulders and shaking him back and forth despairingly; although he stood tall unflared by my shoving. "There is no wind! It's gone! It's vanished!" I screamed at him, feeling my eyes burn up with tears. I made haste to blink them away, I couldn't lose hope now. How could I be so stupid, he and Mina seemed unaffected by my deathwarning. They obviously didn't know the importance of the winds in the Village of the Winds. "Go in... go inside.." I felt my strength begin to wane. I whimpered. "Where is Klonoa?" I asked in fear. "She left," Mina started. I stared her down, looking for more of an explanation. "She left to look for you," Yunsung put in. "She had this weird moment and panicked,.. she then began to ask of where you were, but took off before we could get a word out. She seemed very desperate to find you." he explained. I paused, thinking. Could she have felt the abscence of the winds? At this early a rate? "Where.." I panted. I began to grow weary and overwhelmed by the evil.

"Talim.. Talim. What's the matter?" Yunsung's voice was but a blur to me. I felt like I was standing on quaking land, though my friend didn't let me off so easily. "Talim! Talim!" he grabbed my shoulders, trying to snap me out of it I'm sure. I looked him in the eyes, I could feel my bottom lip quiver and my eyelids grow heavy. I then felt it. A cold, piercing evil fill every vein, every limb with terror. I could see bright purple spots and flashing black thunders, until Yunsung's face, calling my name right infront of me became as unclear as a shattered mirror's reflection. My eardrums rang with high pitch shrieks, I felt pain surge through my body and suddenly I could hear my heart pound like a hammer against my ribcage. Every limb of my body froze and stiffened, fear striking through every bone. I noticed I wasn't breathing and I was growing blind to the evil. "Talim!" he yelled. And finally, it ceased. The immense horror had again vanished, and in final submission I collapsed. My body gave in on me and I fell unconscious in the strong arms of Yunsung.


	2. TWO

My Requiem

**Cast**

_Talim and Yunsung_

YUNSUNG 

After Talim mysteriously fainted at the Grange, Mina insisted that we get her inside. Once we reached a house that dared open the door to us, we found some shelter where Talim could have a bed. Unfamiliar with Mina and I, the host was resistant to intercept us, but once he saw Talim, he took us in.

"Yunsung, you should stay here and look after Talim. I'll stay out and fight this one." Mina instructed. "What! I'm no babysitter, I want to fight!" I protested. "Not this one, Yunsung. Don't worry, chances are I'll be able to handle it. And if I don't come back.. you command in my stead!" she added. "What do you mean!" I demanded. "Only incase, Yunsung. Just.. do what I said!" she finally yelled tired of my complaining, slamming the door and running out toward the darkness.

Thus I sat, on a provided wooden stool beside Talim, trying to deal with the disappointment and at the same time comprehend what was going on. "She said there was no wind with such fear.." I started to myself. "I've lived many windless days." I thought aloud. She lay sprawled out on the bed, her bare midrift rising quickily. Her breaths were short and faint. It all left me so clueless. I frowned. She looked as if she was just reaped off life. I stood up and walked over to the small window at the corner of the room. "Mina.." I murmured. I wondered if she could do this on her own. She was no doubt stronger than me but maybe she could use some help to fight. I looked to the bed, beside Talim where I rested my White Storm. Stiffly I approached it and picked it up. I then looked down at Talim. "Er, she can take care of herself!" I yelled convincingly and ran for the door of the room. I was stopped by the sound of cracking thunder. I turned around, facing the outside wall. It glowed with an evil purple wave. Following, the one corner window shattered into a billion pieces. I could feel the evil emitting a hazey aura, chilling my nerves. "What the.." I stepped back a bit, when a shadowy creature emerged through the wall so sudden;y, a portal like apparition appearing behind it. The eyes were cold and red, striking fear through my body. "Mina.." I whispered. It sent me a mad glare, hissing and choking, then floated toward Talim's bed. "Hey you, stop it!" I reached out a hand in anger. It glanced at me, but ignored me, rising over Talim's lifeless body. It then raised a hand over her, and some weird purple aura began to engulf her body. "Stop it, I said!" I yelled, this time running at it and vertically slashing at it's body. It raised a shadowy sword, no different a medium than what itself was made of, holding off my strike. It's evil radiance made me feel ill and weak. I desperately continued to slash and attack. It continued to block my moves. I went for a roundhouse kick but when I touched him, I felt my leg surge with pain, and numb. I lost my balance and fell at its feet. In satisfaction it attended back to it's original task of hurting Talim. "Stop it, you beast!" I ordered, whipping my sword to his heart. Caught unawares, my sword plunged into the false hollow where it's heart should've been. The figure screeched, causing me to throw my hands over my ears. The shriek made me feel like to explode, the pain so cold and full of hate. "What.. AGGH!" I cried.

The creature shrivelled and writhed before vanishing with a last dying screech. The portal vanished with it. I then fell onto my back, grasping my shin which trembled in pain. "What the hell was that thing.." I cursed. I then looked up, noticing Talim getting out of bed. "Yunsung!" she cried, not even facing me but running toward the window. I found what she was doing so strange as she ran, almost possessedly. "Talim! What are you doing!" I sat up. "Yunnnssssunnngg!" she cried again absurdly, nearing the window. I leaped to my feet to grab her as she just fell out of the small opening. Fortunately, I gripped her arm, although she made no attempts to keep herself up. "Talim! Just hold on! What are you.." I pulled her up, though she wiggled. Yanking her back through the window, we both fell onto the ground, her leaning back against me. I took her shoulders and whipped her around, only to meet wide, cold eyes, and a half-open mouth, the corner twitching abnormally. "Talim! What's the matter with you!" I shook her violently. I then noticed tears starting to trail from her eyes. "Let me go!" she screamed, standing and pulling from me. Startled by her shriek I let her go. She then went for the window again, causing me to get up and go after her. "Talim! Stop! Stop it! What are you doing!" I ran up behind her and wrapped my arms around her body. "Stop! Stop!" she squirmed and pleaded. This time I wouldn't listen. I'm not letting her jump out the window. She resorted to attacking me, throwing balled fists at my hard chest. "Talim! Listen to me!" She wiggled and kicked but I wouldn't let her go. I was too strong and was able to bring her to the floor. "Calm down already." I demanded. The dark cloud then seemed to fade away, for the sun began to shine through and the daylight returned. Talim continued to fight but I didn't release her. "Please let me go, please." she cried pounding weakened and tired fists against my dimly lit face. I held her still, not allowing her to commit whatever crazy act she intended to do.

We sat then for a while, I don't know for how long, but eventually she would stop struggling. I considered that she had regained her senses but when I loosened my grip she continued in the same mindless manner. I was stuck with her for a while, until I noticed the dark cloud leaving, and first true rays from the Sun finally shining through undisturbed. Talim was asleep as this point. I tested it by letting her go and she just fell limp onto the floor. I then got up, standing over her and looking out the window. "That was not normal.." I mumbled, then picked up Talim, slinging her body over my shoulder. "I better go check on Mina.." it came to me, and I ran out the door, after snatching White Storm off the floor.

"What, are you going young sir? In this state of the city, you're absurd!" the house master approached me as I sought to leave the front door. "Thank you for your hospitality, Sir." I respectfully spoke, passing him and out of the building. "Mina!.. Mina!" I yelled out in the streets. "Oh my God!" cried an old lady at a nearby doorstep, some peasant folk man comforting her. My curiosity was hindered by my need to find Mina, however. I found a man cautiously leaving his doorstep, looking around defensively. "Mister!" I yelled out. "You there!" I ran over to him. "Have you seen a woman, red hair braided, scarlet clothing and a long partisan of a weapon!" I forcefully asked. He store at me for a shocked second. "No, not at all. I am looking for my daughter and niece! They haven't come home during their play in the hills!" he worriedly spoke. "Ugh," I groaned looking back down the road and trying to think of a course of action. "What is that you're doing with the young priestess?" the man then raised a question which distracted me. '_I should just keep on looking.. she's gotta be here somewhere!_' I thought over the man's voice. "Mina!" I cried to myself, once again taking off. I ran a good way through the village, and from cries and agonizing, I discovered that many families were robbed of some kind of child girl they loved. I had no time to bother with them though, I had my own crisis at hand. Although me and Mina made hard to compete, I couldn't fight the war for our country without my commander with me. She just wasn't negotiable. Where the hell did she go!

I was forced to stop when I spotted something in the center of a dusty village road, barren of people and the same evil aura just fading. "Oh.. Mina.." I murmured in despair, dropping Talim and running over.


	3. THREE

My Requiem

**Cast**

_Talim and Yunsung_

TALIM 

"Aghh.. ohh.." I slowly sat up, holding my aching head. My limbs ached and I was definitely rising from a rude awakening. 'What happened.." I coarsely whispered. I lifted open my eyes to find I was on the Mephisse road. "How did I get out here..?" I asked retorically, my arms dropping upon my bent legs. I then turned, spotting Yunsung knelt over something blocked from view. I wanted to get up to approach him but I felt planted on the floor in an akward position. I gave it a couple of ample tries, but the effort availed me not until I rolled onto my knees and more manually acquired my shaky balance. "Woaaaah.." I murmured, as my ankles felt very unstable. I reached out my arms to try and find my control, before sauntering to his side to see what was going on. I had faint memory of why I had fallen a sleep, when I did and why I was here as of now. The city also seemed irregularly quiet. "Mr. Yunsung..." I began, nearing behind him as he remained bent over. I suddenly heard a timid caw, and looked over toward the skies to see my bird pet Alun soar down from the Sun. I held out my arm where she perched upon. "Alun.. what's going on? What happened to everyone? Why are the streets so barren?" I asked, my voice shaking in involuntary fear. The bird sang in warning tones. It kicked off from my arm and flapped it's wings, though her flight seemed less than subpar. "Your wings.. the wind.. the winds?" "Talim!" I turned around to face Keo, a childhood friend of mine. "Keo..?" "Did you see any of that priestess? Do you know where all the young maidens are! You're the only one I've seen since the dark cloud! Where is Klonoa!" Keo cried in distress. He was also the older brother of young Klonoa. "That's right, Klonoa! Yuns-" I was about to turn, to continue my search. "Talim..." he interuptted, quietly though boldly. "Listen." he stood up and turned swiftly. He looked although he was about to cry, though his tears were well held, and in his hands was a broken weapon, Mina's Scarlet Thunder, and her headband, tattered to shred. "Yunsung, I-" I started, my hand going over my mouth. He suddenly grabbed my shoulders with large, strong hands and shook me. I don't know if he realized how hard and violently he was thrusting me but I would hear him out. "Tell me what just happened! Where's Mina! What the hell just happened!" he clenched his teeth. "Is she.. is she dead!" he yelled afterward. "I- I! I don't.. I don't know- Yunsung, you're hurting me!" I cried softly. "Get off her, you jerk!" Keo punched Yunsung off of me. "N-no! Don't hurt him, Keo!" I held him back. Yunsung's eyes were narrowed and he wiped off a trickle of blood from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand. Keo calmed behind me. "Yunsung, listen to me, _listen_, _focus_." I ordered, taking a deep breath. "There are no winds.. something's wrong- Klonoa's missing, Mina is missing-" "Every maiden from the village but you Talim." I looked over to Keo. "Are you sure?" I asked forcefully. "Yes.. every family is out looking for a young girls.. you're the first one." '_..but why?_' I questionned in thought. "We have to find them." I said solely to Yunsung. There wasn't an answer. "What was it, Talim?" Keo asked me quietly. "What was what?" I replied. "The dark.. purple.. shadow.. the one who snatched Klonoa away.." his voice broke, but he coughed and continued. "She came home to see if anyone knew where you were but mother kept her, and she was.. stolen.. that demon!" his voice grew angry. "I.." I started. I had no idea what he meant. "She doesn't know what you were talking about." Yunsung stated, anger seeping through his teeth. "She was unconscience the whole time.. that _thing_ came for her too." he then added. "What do you mean? She's still here, isn't she?" Keo asked, confused. "I fended it off, it did a hell of a lot of good when I kicked it," he spoke then sarcastically, lifting a pant and revealling a swelling, purplish and bluish leg. "But I stabbed the sucker.. I'm saying it came to take you, Talim. Seung Mina went out to try and fight the things and now she's gone! I should've been there with her, she might've standed more of a chance! She thought I stay and watch you! She might've standed a chance!" he began to curse himself. "We have to find them though, Yunsung.." I was way too distraught to even feel guilty. I leant against Keo who gladly intercepted me in one of my weakest moments. He was a bit older and me though younger than Yunsung, and quite strong aswell. "No.." Yunsung replied quietly. "What?" I blinked, not sure if I heard him right. "My country has a war to fight, Talim! Just incase you forgot! Mina left me command come her death.. we must prepare. If our battalion fails, it may just determine the make or break of our country! That might not mean anything to you in your peaceful village but it does to us! It does to the Koreans!" he shouted at me. I withdrew a little at his sharp voice. "How can you let her down so easily.. she may still be ali-" "She's dead, Talim! Stop rubbing it in about that thin sliver at hope that makes us always suffer so! If she's alive, she's as good as dead, that's how it goes. Capture is the grave. Let me mourn her and move on!" he pushed me back and ran off.

"Koreans..." Keo rolled his eyes. "Despite how Yunsung feels.. I will not give up our dames to die.. not while I still have strength." He began. "Talim.. what can you do without the winds?" he asked. "I don't know.. but what are we supposed to do? Scratch off living without the maidens, without our winds? Our destination is ruin, Keo.. I must fight. It's not over yet." my voice was etched with determination and wisdom. "And they've got Klonoa, and I don't want to know what they plan to do with her, but I won't let it happen. Not without a fight." I straightened up onto my own two feet. Keo still seemed quite convinced that I'd fall right back into his arms again because he looked quite ready to catch me. "I'm going." Keo nodded, then standing beside me. "And I don't think we should run it over with the council because they surely won't permit your leaving, Talim, in this state. Let's grab our weapons and go." Keo seemed so courageous, I even forgot for a second that we hadn't the slightest idea of where to look. And as if Yunsung had read my mind, he spat bitterly, "What are you going to do? Set off on a the nearest road out of here and pray to the absent winds that the end of the road will _happen_ to be the place they took everybody!" What courage I had was suddenly chipped by his comment. "Do not mock the power of the winds!" Keo gritted his teeth. He obviously did not take a liking to Yunsung, and they hadn't met ever before. "Well, seeing as you haven't a clue.. the purple sky receeded to the South, you can start there." Yunsung gathered the rest of Mina's weapon pieces. "Yunsung.." I started, still thwarted by his decision to abandon Mina. "Both of you are unwise however, Keo.. a young warrior fit to defend his land in a dark time will leave it without a word to anyone.. and the last priestess, the last hope of your elders and chosen by its council to make sure the Village prevails will also vanish, in a dark time where an evil is seeking to capture her. You will have no help, except for this man, but I fought that monster, Talim, and I'm telling you, its hard enough when there's only one!" Yunsung's words where breaking me apart, and whatever I thought I could do at a time like this, I really had no idea what to think now. He was right! Those dark soldiers were surely only henchmen, and what were I and Keo to do against the mastermind of this crisis. Would we stand a chance? I had the greatest urge to collapse and fall to the dusty floor and just cry, the tears that were welling up were enough to dry my eyes forever. But quickily I blinked them away to a mere glossy layer and stood, staring at Yunsung as he muttered heartless words, "You think this is bravery, but its just a very unintelligent decision that seems like your only choice when its not. You will destroy your own country."

He began to walk away, but I called after him, "What do you ask me to do? What are the choices Yunsung; list them. You want our grandmothers to bear children, or me to bear every new son and daughter of the country, for our men's emotions to be left askew, in the hollow hole where their loves, mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins were taken away. Leave them mystified, Yunsung! Let the spirit fade away and be just as empty as the winds are now, let the Village of the Winds become no more than a ghost town, scratched away from the map of mankind, where I am the leader who _failed_!" I made hard not to cry, for this argument had no resolution. "The people ARE our country Yunsung, the grass may live and the trees may bear fruit but the people are what makes this place a village and not farmland!" I knew both Yunsung and I had very legal points, and it confused me. The only thing that was harder than carrying out a plan, was to figure out what plan to take, where all the endings were shadowed and everything seemed hopeless. Yunsung's shoulders stiffened but he seemed to be at a loss of words, so breathlessly I continued to speak. "And how can you fight with a heart that's taken a jabbing from a demon who snatched someone you loved away from your life without an explanation; who infested your limb and sends you out to war with a wary soul!" It was a mistake for me to make it about him because he seemed to find something to yell about. He turned and looked at me with the coldest eyes I ever thought possible. After glaring for a pure second, he stepped toward me with such chill that if he hadn't shown me friendliness before, I would've been sure he was aiming to kill me.


	4. FOUR

My Wind, My Requiem

**Cast**

_Talim and Yunsung_

YUNSUNG 

"Talim! You speak of things that people like _you_ just don't seem to get! It's too realistic to having bearing upon your delusional lovesick minds. Mina and I had an understanding, and we shared the same love for the same country and together we agreed we'd do whatever it took to make sure that our country lasted throughout the ages. This is the reason a village like yours remains the village it is, and Korea is a great standing country- it's logic. Just because you've got nothing to lose right now does not mean I'm in the same situation." The words seeped through my gritted teeth, as if it armed each syllable with a dagger to stab me through the heart. "We made a promise, an oath, a pact, that we would defend our country without any subject to any other emotion we may have to anything else. This is the goal that is universally established among fighters of a great country such as ours, and as long as we abide by such a strong state of rule, we will survive whatever comes our way." I tried not to hesitate, as to not kill the momentum and sternness of my lecture, "I'm explaining this to you Talim, because you are a friend, and I want you to understand me, as your friend, why I take this course of action so strongly. This isn't rash, it is in everyway rational." I chorused. Talim had already looked away. "So that is how you live.. how you choose to live.." she walked a few steps down the dusty barren road, bruised arms hugging her sides. I know where the bruises were from, as I battled to keep her from leaping from the window of the villager's house, I had to keep a tight grip on her flailing arms and it had apparently caused her numerous injuries. To get off topic, I've sparred with her a few times before and she could inflict quite a sharp amount of damage for arms that weak.

Keo's eyes were still on me; mine inclined toward the ground. I had to decide between two conflicting choices, because a friend for whom I cared for very much was walking off, traumatized and terrorized. If I sought after her, I'd show weakness, I'd be a hypocrite and a traitor and would've bolded my speech for nothing. If I left her to her walk, however, I would have left the girl wounded and alone, and have done nothing about it. Keo's eyes were a timer, and numbing myself, I let my body lead the way. In the end, it was in the direction opposite of Talim. Am I going back to Korea to fight? Goodbye Mina?


End file.
